Drug Bust: Croatian lorry driver smuggled cocaine worth £1.6m in reels of paper

A Croatian lorry driver has been jailed for six years for attempting to smuggle a large amount of cocaine into the UK, hidden inside reels of paper.

The National Crime Agency launched an investigation into Predrag Gogic, 53, from Vukovar, Croatia, after he was stopped at Dover’s Eastern Docks in May.

Border Force officers scanned his HGV, which had arrived from Belgium, and detected an anomaly in the load.

Within the trailer, they discovered blue and green shrink-wrapped packages in the centre of reels of paper cord.

A total of 20 packages were taken away for analysis and were found to contain more than 20 kilograms of cocaine.

During an interview with Crime Agency officers, Gogic admitted knowledge of the drugs in his trailer and said he was being paid to smuggle the drugs into the UK.

He told officers that the cocaine was destined for Leicester, where he was due to receive a payment of 10,000 euros.

NCA forensic experts believe the drugs would have been worth an estimated £1.6 million once cut and sold on the streets of the UK.

At Canterbury Crown Court, Gogic was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to attempting to import Class A drugs at an earlier hearing.

National Crime Agency senior investigator Mark Howes:

“Gogic was in the pay of organised crime groups, seeking his share of criminal profit by, transporting cocaine across borders.

“Individuals like him fail to consider the impact that illegal drug supply has on communities and particularly among vulnerable people.

“Instead of receiving a 10,000 euro pay-out, he’ll be spending six years behind bars.”

The officer said the National Crime

Agency was committed to tackling the class A drugs threat and protecting the public.

Authorities say that trade in drugs like cocaine is a significant driver of violence and criminality in communities across the country.

Mark Howes added:

“Working with key partners, such as Border Force, we will continue to disrupt drug networks at every stage of the trafficking process.”